Before Daptone, there was Desco. Before Desco, there were The Poets of Rhythm. Back in the ‘90s, a time when most of our ears were filled with the alternating din of angsty grunge and synthesized pseudo-soul, a couple of German kids unearthed a raw sound from our own back yard that we hadn’t even remembered burying. Though for a time they reveled in the borrowed nostalgia of bell-bottoms and fur coats, their style was always in spite of fashion, not because of it. They drew from the sound of old funk records, not as a mold, but as inspiration, understanding that sound would always be an origin of their music, but unlike many ‘soul revivalists’ to follow, they never settled for it as a destination.

As homage to the undeniably funky frontrunners of the modern soul movement, we are proud to present the definitive collection of Poets tunes, respectfully curated by Daptone staff and the band themselves. It’s been twenty years since their first recording session, and this anthology celebrates their decade-long journey from the raw exuberant rebellion of ‘Funky Train’, to the moody hypnotic explorations of ‘Discern and Define’, and for the first time EVER on wax, the eerie, relaxed groover ‘Path of Life’ – A journey that truly earns them their name: The Poets of Rhythm.